Box Score CEDARVILLE, Ohio - The Yellow Jackets charged back from 18 points down in the first half and defeated Ohio Valley, 77-67, in a G-MAC contest at the Callan Athletic Center.
Cedarville is 10-13 overall and 3-6 G-MAC following it's second straight league victory at home.
It didn't start so well. The Fighting Scots used a pair of nine-point spurts to blow out to a 24-6 advantage before the game was 10 minutes old.
However, the Jackets turned to their bench and outscored OVU 25-7 the rest of the way to forge a 31-31 deadlock by halftime.
There were seven ties in the second half.
J.C. Faubion, who scored all 17 of his points after the break, gave CU the lead for good on two free throws with 5:43 to play.
Freshman
Colton Linkous came off the bench to net a career-high 16 points. Fellow classmate
Gabriel Portillo contributed eight points and seven rebounds also in a reserve role.
Easton Bazzoli totaled 11 points and eight rebounds.
Patrick Bain had 10 points and nine boards.
WATCH | Game HighlightsQuotable | Head Coach
Pat Estepp: "Our mantra going forward from practice on Monday is no excuses, but we were moving like we were in sand on both ends of the floor in the first half.
"The biggest thing we did was defend. After taking a timeout, we had nine stops in a row and 13-of-14. That allowed us to get in transition and get back in the game.
"For us to erase that deficit in the first half alone was huge because a lot of times you get down that big you're fortunate to cut it to ten by halftime.
"Our bench gave us some good minutes. Gabe (Portillo) did a tremendous job tonight. I was really proud of him. He and Colton (Linkous) were part of that run getting us back in the game.
"We're doing some good things. We just had to reset our season and worry about our last seven games. We're getting better balance and that's where we have to be."
Colton Linkous: "Getting some stops helped us turn this game around. They were getting some easy transition points so once we were able to stop that and slow them down it helped us to get the offense going.
"Today was a confidence booster for me to realize that I can do a lot more things than just shoot. My teammates found me early. After I got going, they got me the ball and I was able to take advantage of the opportunity."
Numbers Game:- Linkous' previous career-high was 11 points in the second game of the season vs. Malone.
- Bain finished one rebound shy of notching his first career double-double.
- In the final 30 minutes of the game, the Jackets outscored OVU, 71-43.
- The team's free throw accuracy (.773) was a season-high in games in which they had more than 10 attempts.
- Cedarville swept both regular season games and is 7-1 all-time vs. Ohio Valley.
- PDF Stats
Next Up: The Yellow Jackets play a G-MAC contest at Salem International on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. EST.
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